Since the 1960’s, mass forms of birth control have been used by millions of women in the United States (Nikolhev). A tiny pill a day that millions rely on for not just contraceptive use but for an array of health needs. Just like any other medication it requires a visit to the doctor’s office to discuss privately and securely what is best for the patient. Now, 60 years later, there is a possibility that your boss gets to theoretically be in the doctor’s room also getting to decide what is best. The Trump-Pence administration has made efforts to alter the Affordable Care Act and limit women’s access to birth control. This would be done by giving companies the authority to decide if the insurance they provide to their employees should cover birth control (North). So, when did America get to the point of letting our bosses decide our medical decisions? And how can we get this control back?
As of 2017 around 65% of American women use some form of contraceptives (Physicians Weekly). With the female population in 2021 being just under 169 million women we can roughly estimate that 109 million women use contraceptives today (Countrymeters.info.). The Affordable Care Act, the ACA, passed in 2010 ensured that all of these 109 million women could rely on their insurance to cover their contraceptive needs. Not just for themselves but for their daughters who do not have their own insurance. This act caused contraceptive use for women to rise exponentially, “Thanks in part to the mandate that employers offer insurance covering contraception, the use of these methods rose around the U.S., more than quadrupling between 2002 and 2017”(North). The average cost for birth control for these women was virtually free as well. This in turned helped the U.S. lower it’s unplanned pregnancy rate (Unintended Pregnancy). One of the largest reasons for abortions is unplanned pregnancies (Finer, Lawrence B., et al.). Because of the ACA the U.S was able to decrease unintended pregnancies and subsequently decrease the abortion rate, both very beneficial to the U.S.
In 2008, unplanned pregnancies cost the U.S. 3.4 million dollars. This included pregnancies that resulted in a live birth, abortion or miscarriage (Power to Decide). That is a lot of money that the U.S. shouldn’t need to be spending. It may seem that supporting the ACA would also cost money, but in reality, the U.S. would be saving money supporting this, “Publicly funded contraception saves nearly $6 in medical costs for every $1 spent on contraceptive services” (Power to Decide). The best way to avoid the government funded costs of unplanned pregnancies is to avoid unplanned pregnancies. As seen before, the way to do this is with assessable birth control.
It is clear that providing birth control to the women of America can decrease abortion rates and federal spending. But there is a key demographic that still is heavily affected by un planned pregnancies, teens. Among the age group of 15-19-year old’s, still 75% of the pregnancies were unplanned (Unintended Pregnancy). As mentioned previously the largest cause for abortion is unplanned pregnancy and it’s America’s youth that is at the greatest risk for this.
We know birth control can decrease this rate, but I wanted a better understanding on how Americas teens and young adults’ used and thought about birth control. I did a survey with 60 young women on exactly that. Of the 60 participants, 26 of them were between the ages of 20-24, 33 being between 15-19 and 1 being 14 or younger. 100% of the recipients said they were on or previously used birth control. The forms of birth control varied but 48% said they were using the pill with the second most common being the IUD with 28%. Of the 60 participants 81.7% of them started birth control before the age of 18. Most importantly, 91.7% said they rely on insurance to cover the whole or partial price of their birth control. When asked how much do/did you spend on birth control with or without insurance coverage? The results were as follow. With issuance coverage several said their birth control is free. Some reported that their birth control costs anywhere from $10 a month to $2000 total without mentioning if this was the price with or with or without coverage. When asked why they were on birth control, 75% said to practice safe sex. Several responses elaborated that while they use it to practice safe sex, they were initially prescribed it to regulate periods, treating different health issues and acne.
These young women took control of their lives and future to live safe and responsible life’s. Not just to practice safe sex but to control their periods, minimize pain and simply help with acne. As they rely on insurance, we would be doing them a disservice by limiting their acts of responsibility. In efforts to decrease the teen unplanned pregnancy rate it is clear that means upholding the ACA to ensure insurance coverage for all.
By supporting policies such as what the Trump-Pence administration is fighting for we would be taking a step back in our countries progression. Limiting birth control accessibility would be abandoning women who financially rely on their insurances to afford a safe way of life. While we do not have a right to safe sex, it is not something that should be reserved for only those who can afford it. Without insurance coverage many women would not be able to afford their birth control inevitably leading to an increase in unplanned pregnancies and abortion rates. It would also cost this country more having to support more unplanned pregnancies than it would to support assessable birth control.
As Americans we are motivated through our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Women across the nation are struggling to control their life and pursuit of happiness by the governments hand. It is time to get politicians and corporations out of our doctor’s office as we take back control of our bodies and future.
Link to survey results:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19pDsArY8qYUUAvLMjOsEcE_g8iQdWPY7y1VIKQHX31E/edit?usp=sharing
Works Cited
“CDC: 65.3 Percent of U.S. Women Currently Using Contraceptives.” Physician’s Weekly, 21 Oct. 2020, www.physiciansweekly.com/cdc-65-3-percent-of-u-s-women-currently-using-contraceptives/.
Countrymeters.info. “United States of America (USA) Population.” Countrymeters, countrymeters.info/en/United_States_of_America_(USA)#:~:text=Natural%20increase%3A%201%2C438%2C970%20people,as%20of%2031%20December%202020.
Finer, Lawrence B., et al. “Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives.” Guttmacher Institute, 3 Feb. 2020, www.guttmacher.org/journals/psrh/2005/reasons-us-women-have-abortions-quantitative-and-qualitative-perspectives.
Nikolchev, Alexandra. “A Brief History of the Birth Control Pill.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 11 May 2010, www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/health/a-brief-history-of-the-birth-control-pill/480/.
North, Anna, and Vox. “The Trump Administration’s War on Birth Control.” Center for Public Integrity, 24 Sept. 2020, publicintegrity.org/politics/system-failure/the-trump-administrations-war-on-birth-control/.
“Savings to Society and the Benefits of Birth Control in America.” Power to Decide , powertodecide.org/sites/default/files/resources/supporting-materials/getting-the-facts-straight-chapter-6-savings-to-society.pdf.
“Unintended Pregnancy.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12 Sept. 2019, www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/contraception/unintendedpregnancy/index.htm.
